Improvement in horse-rakes



' l' 'tant-@attriti E D w i N !J. T o o r, or r on 'r MA D Iso-N. 1 oWA. Leners Parmi: No. 34,917, ma Bama 15, 1868.

IMIPROVEMENT IN BRSE-RAKES.

The lSevheiziule referred to these Letters Patent and making part of thevBalmdrawings, forming a part of this specification, in which- Figure lis a plan view of .a horsefrake having my improved attachment.

Figure 2 is a section of the same through the line x x, fig. l.

Figure?) is a detail v'ew of a modified form of my attachment.

ASimilar letters of reference indicate corresponding The object of thisinvention is to accomplish the lifting forward of the handle 0f therake' by means of the combined action of the gate-trip stick and houndsof the rake, so'that the draughtstrain of the team will ca-use thehandle ofthe rake to be brought forward by the stop-devices, whicliaction will press down the ont of 'the fingers by means of thespring-device fi,

-common to revolving rakes.

The object of bringing forward the handle A, shown in the accompanyingplate of drawings, is to permit the front parts of the rake-fingers a cc, &c., to be borne downward, in obedience to the movement of the saidhandle, whereby the Afingers will pass under the hay, and gather it upcleanly.

Many devices havel been made use of for this purpose, but the one hereinset -forth has an important feature of superiority, from the fact thatits action depends upon the gate b and trip-stick d, which parts of themechanism of revolving Takes are more properly the ones to control theaction of the handle and rakeflngers, as the said-gate and trip-stickare the means of permitting the revolution of the rake-fingers by thebackward action of the gate.

Ilhe said handle, the trip-stick, and gate, and the rake-lingers, beingthus dependent upon each other in all, or nearly all rakes of thisclass, it vwill therefore be obvious to all persons 'experienced in theuse of such rakes, that the depressing of the front rake-teeth, or thepointing, so called, of the same, will be better and more seasonablyaccomplished by mechanism which depends for its operation directly uponthe trip-stick, gate, and hounds of the machine.

I will set forth several of the modifications of my invention.

The rst is that of a yielding connectionbetween the handles A andtrip-stick d, 0r the handle and hounds B, for which purpose'a chain,rope, or cord, may be employed' to connect 'the said parts; or the saidyielding connection may be obtained b y means of a Arod hung loosely tothe handle, and sliding freely through an eye-bolt or staple on thetrip-stick, as

shown at fig. 1, e being the rod, properly of iron, and f the staple onthe-vtrip-stick d. The rod, in sliding through the staple, permit theproper forward motion of the handle A when the rake-shaft 'is to berevolved; but after this latter operation, the rod draw-V ing backwardthrough its staple on the trip-stick, will' act as a stop to thebackward movement of the handle.

When the end of the said rod arrives at the staple,v (for the rodterminates in a hook or head, to prevent it( from withdrawing completelyfrom connection with v the trip-stick,) it actse as a stop to the handleA, and slightly draws. the same forward, in-vobedience to thedraught-strain of the team, to which latter it is thus indirectlyconnectedby means of the trip-stick, as

aforesaid. This drawing forward ofthe handle causes the pointing ordownward pressure ofthe front points ,of the rake-fingers.

The second form of my invention is shown also at fig. l, and is merely across-rod,'g, passing through or affixed to the gate, asfshown, wherebyit acts asastop to the forward movement of the gate, and thus actuatesthe handle A forward, iu the manner and for the purpose above set forth.When this rod g is used, ther rod e orv chain or cord' is not required.

The third form lis shown in the detail view of iig. 3, and consists inhingiirg o rpivotingthe lgateto thebaek and upper edge of any suitablecross-piece, h, of the handle, as shown, the said cross-piece beingprovided with any suitable projection, i, or other equivalent device forproducing the aforesaid stop to the forward movement of the gate; whenthe latter has reached the proper point, andtlius actuating the, handleforward, and thereby pointing the rake-ngers downwa'id, asv aforesaid.

This principleof employing the gate, as above s et forth, might bevariously modified, but I desire to be understood-as not limiting myselftoathe precise construction and devices above described; for, should Ibe so limited, my Letters Patent,if obtained, would be easily evaded bythe'employment of other devices, which would be, in reality, meresubstitutions, if their function was to cause thegate to act as a stop,for the purpose of bringing forward the handle A by means of thedraught-strain of the team.

My invention is easily attached to the revolving rakes now in use,without materially altering the form or construction of the same.

Having thus described my invention,

I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patentl. A stop, toarrest the gate in its forward movement, formed by the rod g, or itsequivalent, substantially as described, for the purposespecified.'

2. The yielding connection e, substantially as shown` and described, incombination Iwith the trip-stick d, hounds B, and the handlel A, of arevolving horserake, all as and for the purpose set forth. The abovespecification of. my invention signed by me, this 4th day 'of March,1868.

i Witnesses: O. B. THOMPSON,

ALEX. F. ROBERTS.

